Pack o'Hunters
by CatChild1
Summary: An apparent werewolf attack in the park attracks the attention of our hunters. However, things are not what they seem as Kim joins our boys in the hunt.
1. We Meet Again

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

**Pack o'Hunters**

The demon has retreated again to where ever it goes during its times of hibernation or plotting. John Winchester has parted and gone in search of it without Dean and Sam, asking that they continue to hunt normally until he can find something. Reluctantly, they had agreed.

Dean and Sam sat in a diner located in a small town in Wyoming having a cup of coffee. Sam was looking at the pages he'd printed last night. "I can't find anything specific to let us know what might be killing these people. Just looking at the lunar cycles and the descriptions of wild animal wounds left on the victims, I'm willing to bet it's a werewolf," Sam said passing one of the pages to Dean. It was a newspaper article where the sheriff had made a statement indicating that they would be scouring nearby woods in search for something.

"Ha, they think it's a pack of wild dogs or coyote," Dean was saying as Sam suddenly coughed and almost choked on his coffee. "Dude, what's wrong with you?" Dean studied Sam for a brief second and then followed his gaze out the window.

---

"Priests don't hunt!" Her voice carried throughout the church and echoed in the main chapel. She stood with her hands on hips defiantly glaring at Father Marcus. "You can't expect me to go on a hunting trip with him. He'll just get in the way."

Father Marcus just sighed, he could be very patient, even with her, "Kim, he needs a little experience. I've been on a hunt or two myself, as an observer. He needs to see what you go through and understand what is out there. He's new to our world." She just glared. "Kim, please, this hunt isn't going to be anything big I'm sure. He's been instructed to follow your every instruction to the letter and not get in your way."

Kim narrowed her eyes, "and what if it turns out to be something more and junior gets his butt killed."

"You have your orders. You will take Michael with you. You will also make sure he comes back in one piece for his ordination." Father Marcus smiled softly, "and don't call him junior while you're out. He's almost as old as you are and I'm sure that will offend him."

Her neck muscles became taunt but she said nothing. She just nodded and headed to her room to pack.

---

Sam couldn't believe what he was seeing. Across the road was the small motel that he and Dean had gotten a room in. In front of the office was a vehicle he knew he would never forget. It was burned into his memory and even looking at it now he could remember the license plate and view of that same black Tahoe leaving the bar so many months before.

Dean, on the other hand, never actually saw the Tahoe. What he did see and remember was the woman walking out of the office. Well built and strong, thick black hair past her shoulders, and walking with confident strides back to the SUV. She climbed in and began driving to the other side of the motel. Neither Sam nor Dean said a word; they just simultaneously stood up, Dean dropped some cash on the table, and they headed for the motel.

It didn't take long to find the room; they could hear her harshly talking to someone. As they got closer, they realized the door was still open. A man's voice was saying, "I'm not a baby, please don't call me junior. I am also quite capable of laying down protections in my own room."

"You're a priest, so I would expect you to know how to lay protections, but as far as I'm concerned, you're still a junior and priests don't hunt!" Dean and Sam couldn't help but look at each other, "she never met Pasteur Jim," Dean snickered. "So, I intend to make sure you get everything right and keep you safe until this job is done and I get you back home to be ordained."

"So, should we say 'hi' to them?" Sam asked as they stood a few doors down from the room. Dean didn't have time to answer because at that moment, Kim walked out of the room and looked straight at them.

---

Sam's first impression of this woman was that he was toast. Her demeanor went from being casual annoyance as she walked out of the hotel room to a tiger about to pounce and rip the throat out of her prey. The change happened so fast that Sam's adrenaline went nuts and he froze in place. He could see Dean jerk in almost the same manner, except he raised his hands yelling, "whoa whoa whoa!"

Something banged and dropped in the room, a light mumbling, and then complete quiet. She wasn't moving, just staring down Sam with an occasional glance at Dean, who was now standing slightly between them with his hands still up, palms toward her, gesture of "please don't attack us" while he tried to regain his composure. Sam just swallowed hard and waited.

Dean tried to appear relaxed a little and lowered his hands, "we saw you from the diner across the street. We're staying at this motel too and thought we'd come by." He paused and when she didn't say anything, "I mean … since last time we saw each other it wasn't in the best of circumstances."

Kim watched them carefully judging their intentions. Sam had become a statue and even through Dean's comments the only movement was from his eyes and quickened breath. She kept still listening and refrained from bursting into laughter when she heard poor Michael in the room beside her. He'd had his shaving kit in his hand when she'd reacted to Sam and Dean. He'd been told over and over again to watch her closely and any indication from her that something was wrong, he was to follow her lead. When she reacted in such a threatening manner, Michael had panicked, back into and tripped over the bed, and dropped his shaving kit all over the floor. In the end, he'd just crouched next to the bed instead of actually standing up and was now sitting there with a wide-eyed look on his face watching for her instruction.


	2. Getting Reacquainted

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

Kim relaxed a little, "well it's good to see that you're still alive and my efforts weren't wasted," she let out a light chuckle. "As much as I'd love to believe this is a 'happy' coincidence, I don't believe in such things. I never did find out why such powerful demons were after you three. So, where'd your dad?" Kim asked as she suddenly realized that he wasn't there. "He didn't get …" she let her voice trail off.

"No," Dean responded quickly. "He's just … off on his own right now. Working."

"You mean hunting?" Kim offered, which caught them off guard a little. Kim chuckled again, "Father Marcus told me that you guys were self-trained hunters. A bit better than amateurs from what he said too." There was a slight sparkle in her eye as Dean tensed up from the insult.

Sam stepped a little in front of Dean, "well we've be training for a long while, so I think I can say that we're quite a bit better than amateurs." He glanced back and forth between her and Dean hoping to relax the tension that seemed to be mounting. "We're here about the killings; we think we know what it is. I assume that's why you're here too?"

"You can get up and come out now Michael. Everything's fine," she said over her shoulder as she realized he was still crouched by the bed not moving. After she said that, Michael stood up, took a deep breath, and began gathering his shaving kit. Kim turned her attention back to the boys, "well, I know what it is too and I'll take care of it. You two should just enjoy your day and go home."

"What?" Dean burst out, "we're capable to handling the situation, we don't need your help."

"Help? Ha! I can take this beast in my sleep, you'll probably end up getting yourselves killed or worse and I'll have to come rescue you again." Her eyes were blazing and Dean stepped forward meeting her gaze. The only thing Sam could think of was two wild animals staring each other down to see who would flinch first.

Michael stepped out of the room, "uh … Kim?" She wasn't moving and neither was Dean. "Kim?" he tried a little louder thinking maybe she just didn't hear him, but when she still didn't move, he coughed and said, "Kim, please? We have work to do and while these boys may not be professionals such as yourself, we could always listen to what they've found? Right?"

Kim thought for a moment, took a breath, but didn't relax or move her gaze from Dean. "You and the priests are the researchers, Michael. You think you could have actually missed something that these bboys/b could have found." The stress she put on the word 'boys' made Dean scowl and Sam frown a little. "You presented the evidence and I told you what it was. I doubt we'll need their help, but that is your choice."

Michael tried to appear relaxed, "I think we should never leave anything to doubt. Isn't that what you've said before?"

Sam nodded at Michael, "we can just go over everything and take it on together, whether any of us believe we need the others help. Right? The more firepower we've got the less likely this thing will be a problem. Ok? Dean?" Sam touched Dean on the shoulder, "come on man, let's get our information."

Dean gave her a smirk and shrugged off Sam's hand, "sure, whatever." When Kim smirked back he had the sensation of wanting to punch her and kiss her all at the same time. Her eyes were blazing blue and his memory kept repeating their dance floor experience over and over in his head. They turned and headed for their room to pick up the rest of their research.

Kim glanced over at Michael, "you really think they've got something that we don't already know?" Michael just shrugged, "probably not, but I think they believe they are really good hunters, which they might be, and I think it would be better to hunt with them rather than have them get in our way." Michael suddenly got a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his face, "besides, I think you like him."

Kim stiffened, "him who?"

Michael just smiled at her, "the older one, Dean I believe. Part of my training as a priest is a little psychology, remember? The way you talked about him after your last encounter and the way you're smirking and your eyes are smiling, I'd say you actually like him."

"My eyes aren't smiling." Kim glared at him.

"Not anymore they're not," Michael just laughed and went back in his room to finish unpacking. Kim just watched him go, then look towards the corner where Sam and Dean had disappeared going to their room. She turned to get her things from the Tahoe, "I do not like him," she mumbled, "and he's going to get in the way and I'm probably going to have to save his butt again … and I do not like him."

Michael just continued to laugh, "who are you trying to convince?"


	3. Preparing for the Hunt

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

Sam and Dean joined Kim in Michael's room. They laid down everything they had and Michael showed them what he and the other priests had found. Both sets of information were pretty much the same. Michael just smiled and said, "it looks like these boys are pretty good researchers themselves, Kim." Kim snorted, but didn't protest. Michael's smile widened slightly, "We know where it attacks, we're pretty sure it's a werewolf, and we know how to kill it. Now you guys just have to decide on a plan to do so."

Kim stood up and headed for the door. "The moon will be starting the cycle tonight. I think it'll be nice to take a walk in the woods. It shouldn't be too hard to attract its attention and take care of it."

"What?" Sam and Dean both said it in unison and Kim almost burst into laughter. Dean scowled, "you've got to be kidding. You're just going to wonder around the woods and hope that it doesn't surprise you?"

"I'm not so easily surprised," she challenged.

"You know how fast werewolves can be and they can be very quiet. Almost as bad as a wendigo in the woods," Dean countered.

Kim stood her ground as they stepped at each other and stood face to face. "I've got better hearing that most animals and the reflexes to match. I've been training as a hunter since I was a toddler, and I don't mean amateur training either." Kim was slightly shorter than Dean, but that didn't dissuade her from staring him straight in the eye defiantly.

Michael and Sam just stood watching, not quite sure if they should intervene or if they wanted to see the inevitable fist fight that was boiling up. They looked at each other and knew they were thinking the same thing. Michael nodded, so Sam moved closer to the two, "look guys, we can work something out. Maybe Dean and I can take up positions somewhere and sit quietly. Just for backup?"

Kim kept her gaze on Dean, "if you're in the woods, then it's possible that it'll smell you or hear you."

"Don't forget that you're supposed to be taking me along with you as well," Michael piped in. "This is supposed to be a learning experience for me, remember?"

"Oh no you aren't!" Kim turned her glare from Dean over to Michael. "I had to bring you along, but I'm not letting you out in those woods."

"You can't stop Sam and me from going in there, so you might as well just let us plan this together," Dean was not going to back down. He certainly wasn't going to be outshone by this woman again. She'd surprised him before at the bar, but he wasn't about to let her go after this werewolf alone.

Kim stood there for a minute looking back and forth between Dean and Michael. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear. If anyone gets bitten or has blood on blood contact with the werewolf, I will not hesitate to shoot you in the heart with a silver bullet just as I plan on doing to it. There is no cure for this disease; anyone who gets infected will become one."

"That's pretty cold," Sam frowned.

"It's what has to be done, Sam." Kim sighed, "Otherwise, in a month or so we'll be right back here hunting another one, only it'll be one of you."

Dean stiffened slightly, "and you'd have no problem just killing one of us, before it's even determined that we were infected?"

Kim turned, "of course. That's my job. I'm a hunter, a killer, that's what I've been trained to do. Kill supernatural enemies. If you get bitten, you will be infected, there's no way to get around it. And it's better to put you out of your misery before you change." She turned back towards Michael and Sam, "Sorry, but it's the way it has to be, so I'd prefer if you didn't come along."

Dean made a light snort, "and what if you get bitten?"

"I'll take care of myself." Kim turned back to Dean and he shuddered inside looking at the coldness that had suddenly entered her eyes. "I do not have a fear of dying. Everyone and everything dies eventually." She sighed as she noticed the look on Dean's face and Dean noted the coldness leaving replaced with an almost hallow void. "If you want to go, you're right, I can't stop you without causing you bodily harm," Dean frowned and Kim couldn't help but smile, "just remember what I said." Kim turned and headed out to her room.

"What is her deal?" Sam whispered, more to himself than to anyone else.

Michael sighed, "she hasn't had it easy to be sure. I've only really understood what is going on for a year or so. I was brought in to the 'fold' so to speak while visiting their church. I stumbled onto the room where they had a lot of their research. They explained what was going on and how she was chosen by them." Michael shook his head and frowned, "apparently she was adopted by the church when she was about a year old. Her father checked himself into a psychiatric hospital and eventually killed himself because he couldn't handle the loss of his wife."

Sam and Dean both stiffened and watched Michael intently. Michael just took a deep breath and started packing up the papers. Sam swallowed, not sure if he really wanted to know the answer, "How did his wife die?"

Michael looked at him with sad brown eyes, "my understanding is that she died in a fire that started in Kim's room when she was about six months old. I don't think Kim has any memory of either of her parents. The church adopted her and has been training her in the languages, demonology, incantations and exorcisms, and just about any fighting style you could think of. It's actually pretty amazing to watch her when she's practicing and training. She's just so cold and calculating though. It's sad to think about what she could have had if she'd been adopted by a normal family." Michael shrugged, "you boys should probably get yourselves ready." Michael walked to the door behind Sam as they left the room, closing the door behind them.

As they walked towards their room, Sam turned to Dean, "you know what that meant don't you?" Dean gave him a confused look. Sam took a deep breath, "I bet the way her mom died is the same way as ours. I mean Michael didn't come out and say that she was pinned to the ceiling, but she did die in a fire in Kim's nursery."

Dean nodded and continued towards their room, "you're probably right, but lets not jump to conclusions yet." Dean paused a moment, "it's pretty harsh the way they've trained her, though." Dean glanced back at Sam and shook his head before walking on. Sam noticed his look, "what?" Dean just smirked, "I was expecting you to say something about dad and his training." Sam just smiled and shrugged.

---

As evening approached, everyone met back at Michael's room. Kim was already there when Dean and Sam arrived. She was sitting cross-legged on Michael's bed with her eyes closed. Dean expected her to start mumbling, "Hauuummm," and had to stifle the giggle that threatened to ruin the silence. When Michael let them in, she didn't move, she just said, "hi," after Michael closed the door behind them. Michael rolled his eyes and sat down at the table. "Ignore her, she's still mad at me for pushing the issue and making her take me along tonight." She made a snorting sound, "I can't believe you called Father Marcus." Michael smiled, "what ever it takes for you to remember what your _entire_ job is, which includes letting me go with you tonight."

All Sam could think of was that his man was a child who had no idea what he was getting in to. Dean's expression showed he thought the same thing. Sam coughed lightly, "you do realize Michael, that this is a dangerous creature that we're going after? I mean, for us," he nodded towards Dean and Kim, "we've been doing this a while and we're pretty sure we can handle it, but you …" he let the words trail off not sure if he really needed to say the rest. Michael tensed up, "I'm not stupid, I do understand that this is a dangerous creature, but I've also read the information on what Kim's done all these years. I have every confidence in her ability to not only take care of the creature, but keep me safe at the same time. I'm just very excited to actually see her in action."

Kim's eyes shot open and a look of disbelief appeared on her face for a brief second before she returned to the cold mask, "you're nutty as a fruitcake Michael." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out trying to lighten her ever-darkening mood. Pushing herself off the bed, she walked over to the table, "I'm glad you have confidence in my abilities Michael, but over confidence will cause mistakes and get you hurt if not killed." Before Michael could respond, Kim turned her attention to Dean, "you two can hunt here," she pointed to a section on the map that was lying on the table. "The werewolf has attacked randomly and there's no telling which area of the woods it will strike this time. I'll take this section with Michael."

Dean scowled, he didn't like taking orders from her or even appear to be, but she was recommending just about the same thing he and Sam had decided on earlier in their room. He was actually impressed and beginning to have a bit more respect for her. Not only did she appear to be a damn good hunter, but she was gorgeous to boot. He remembered the first time he'd seen her in the bar. Sam elbowed him back to reality. Dean coughed lightly, realizing that he'd been staring a bit at her, "sounds good."

Kim smiled lightly at Dean but didn't say anything more. Michael nodded, "We've got about an hour to get there before the sun goes down. Most of the killings are reported to have occurred about two or three hours past sunset." Kim moved to one of her bags and pulled out a couple of small two-way radios. She tossed one to Dean and the other to Michael. "Take this, that way when you see it or kill it, you can let us know and we can do the same for you." Kim turned and started putting her equipment on. Dean and Sam both watched not exactly sure what to say. She had a small gun that she strapped to her right calf, two 9mm's that she put in the small of her back where she could easily grab one with each hand, two small blades that looked like butterfly wings in her hair – these Dean also remembered from the bar, another small blade she put on her left calf, and then another 9mm that she tucked under her shirt at her belly. "Uhhh, don't you think that's a little overkill?" Sam asked. Kim just smiled, "you can never be too careful." Dean was still gawking, at the firepower she was packing – not to mention where she was packing it.


	4. Who's Hunting Who

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

Sam nudged Dean and jerked his head towards the door, "let's head over there." Kim glanced back towards them and smiled, "Be careful guys and watch each other's back. Werewolves might be aggressive but they can also be very cunning in their hunts." Sam nodded and Dean said, "you too," he glanced at Michael, "watch yourself." Michael just smiled and nodded.

Sam and Dean left to get into the Impala. Michael gathered his papers and the map. "They're actually nice guys. Not near as gruff and old as most of the hunters I've heard talked about." He packed his things into a small backpack and clipped the radio to his belt and smiled brightly at Kim, "Ready when you are."

Kim frowned, Michael was way too excited. She thought she should have sent Michael off with the boys, but she knew that he'd just point out that it was her job to watch out for him and he was here to watch her in action. She rolled her eyes again and picked up her pack. "Ok, let's get going." She walked out the door and threw the bag into the middle section of the Tahoe. Once they were both in and buckled, she headed for the park.

The wooded area of the park was huge and it would take them over an hour to follow the trail to the half way point where Dean and Sam were suppose to meet them. Kim glanced back at Michael and thought, "well over an hour to reach them." Smirking to herself, then made sure her hiking boots were laced tightly. The sun was setting and it was starting to get dark. She pulled out two large flashlights and checked them to make sure the batteries were still strong. Michael had walked around to her side of the Tahoe and she handed him one of the flashlights. "Ooh, Mag lites," Michael smiled as he moved the heavy flashlight up and down. "Yeah," Kim smirked at him, "if the werewolf takes me out you can hit him over the head with it." Michael smiled at her until he realized she was being a smarty, then frowned, "cute," was all he said as he turned and headed for the trail beginning.

---

Dean parked the Impala in a shaded area hoping it wouldn't be easily seen by any park rangers that might be on duty. Sam grabbed a couple of guns out of the trunk, "You think we'll need more than one?" Sam asked with a smirk on his face as he handed one of the guns to Dean. Smiling mischievously as he tucked the gun into the front of his jeans, Dean said, "she sure was packing wasn't she, filled those jeans in nicely." Sam rolled his eyes and closed the trunk.

They walked the trail for quite a while, keeping their flashlights low so they could see where they were walking but not alert anyone in the distance to their presence. Hopefully, if there were any wondering rangers, Dean and Sam would see their lights waving across the path first and be able to take cover. So far they hadn't heard anything out of the ordinary. Every now and again Dean mumbled about how he hated camping. Sam just nodded his agreement and slapped at a bug or spider web that tickled his face. They heard something moving through the woods off to their left at a high rate of speed. They turned their flashlights in that direction and breathed as softly as they could trying to listen to the movement. It was moving parallel to them and sounded like it was moving away. Dean listened for a moment more then turned to Sam, "sounded like something too small to be the werewolf and it's leaving. Lets keep moving." Sam nodded, took a deep breath, and continued down the path behind Dean.

---

Kim and Michael had been walking for quite a while when she heard the first sounds of something coming towards them. She glanced quickly back at Michael and he appeared to have heard nothing. He did notice her look and stiffened. Up ahead of them a little appeared to be a couple of benches and a trash can. Moving up to them she noticed that the path widened into a small clearing, a resting place for hikers and such. They were over half way to their meeting point with Dean and Sam.

The sound she'd heard became louder and now Michael heard it. Kim motioned to him and they both crouched down turning off their flashlights. Even with the full moon above them and the clearing it was dark. Michael could see Kim's outline and when she looked back at him he could see small specks of light reflecting from her eyes. His eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness, but even then it was difficult to see more than just Kim's form. There was definitely something large coming towards them and Michael's heart raced as he pulled out the radio, ready to call Dean if they were under attack.

Kim listened to the sound. Her instincts were screaming at her that something was wrong. It was something more than just the noise though, she just couldn't pin it down. She listened intently picking out the different steps as they crushed the leaves and broke tree limbs. Then she found it and it made her heart skip a beat. Her adrenaline shot through the roof as she tried to contain the curse she wanted to scream. She could pick out the distinctive steps, one very loud set in front of her trying to hide the softer sets that were moving to their right and to their left. Her mind raced. "_Werewolves are loners, they don't hunt in packs,"_ she kept telling herself. She drew both her guns from her back and nodded to Michael.

As Michael hit the button to send the alert to Dean's radio, the first creature burst through the tree line in front of them.

---

Dean was now leading the way. He listened as the sounds of whatever it had been grew more distant. He held his hand up to stop Sam who was walking close behind him. Something was making the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. It only took him a moment before he heard the noise coming up from the behind them, it was soft, but it was enough that Sam heard it too. They drew their guns and turned their flashlights to point behind them. The noise stopped and everything was quiet. Too quiet.

They moved the flashlights to look around the area but the trees provided too many shadows. The trail was wide enough for one or two people to walk side by side in most places, so they stood shoulder to shoulder as they slowly stepped back the way they'd come. A noise off to their right caused them to turn, but still they couldn't see anything. Sam whispered softly, "is it trying to circle around us?" Dean just shrugged slightly and kept his eyes in the woods trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Dean was worried how it could have moved so silently to their right without him hearing anything.

The alert beep from the radio made them jump, but the crashing sounds they now heard coming at them from in front and to their left almost made their hearts stop.


	5. Not Really a Victory

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

They were both facing the creature as it burst through the tree line in front of them. They began firing almost immediately. As the second one came from the tree line behind and to their left, Sam couldn't turn fast enough. It slammed into his side as he turned, knocking the gun and flash light from his hands. He hit the ground hard. The creature's speed was enough that the impact and fall caused it to roll a couple of feet away from Sam.

Dean fired at the one in front of him as he heard Sam's grunt when he hit the ground. Sam's flashlight landed somewhere on the trail with the beam shining off into the woods. The first one didn't attempt to tackle Dean; instead it used one arm to knock the hand holding the gun away as it attempted to grab Dean by the neck. Dean blocked the attack and kicked the werewolf in the stomach to knock it back away from him. It only worked a little, but that was enough for Dean to fire a couple more rounds into its chest. Now that it was close enough, Dean's aim was right on target. Two shots, center of the chest, into the heart, and the beast crumpled at his feet.

Sam looked for his gun, but in the dark it was near impossible to find it. He turned back to the werewolf as it leapt at him. A couple of the claws dug into his chest and shoulders as it pinned him to the ground and tried to bite his throat. Sam pushed as hard as he could against its neck and chest keeping it away. Its hot breath was rancid and smelled of rotting meat, making it harder for his to concentrate on pushing and not vomiting. He tried to take a breath to yell for Dean but the pressure on his chest kept him from inhaling and she slowly began to realize that he couldn't breathe.

The werewolf's mouth was getting close when it was suddenly lifted shoved to the side. It straightened itself and was ready to pounce again when Dean fired the remaining bullets from his gun into it. However, in its crouched position, he didn't hit the heart. Sam saw his gun just a short distance away and grabbed it as Dean fired. The werewolf dove into the woods and they could hear it racing away, no longer trying to be quiet.

Dean quickly crouched next to Sam and began checking his wounds. "Did he bite you?" Sam shook his head, "no, just claws." He winced as he took deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves. "What the hell was that, Dean? Since when do they hunt in pairs?" Dean suddenly remembered the radio. He grabbed it from his belt and started calling into it, "Kim? Michael?" The radio returned some static, but nothing more.

---

Kim's flashlight lay on the ground at her feet pointing up the path on the other side of the small clearing. She was crouched in a fighting stance with both guns drawn. Michael hit the button on the radio to signal Dean and Sam that they were under attack just as the first werewolf came into the clearing from tree line. As she raised both guns towards it, she heard the rustle to her left. She started firing at the one in front with the gun in her right hand as she turned her left gun on the newcomer. Unfortunately the one on the right side of the clearing entered as well.

Michael saw the first one and covered his ears as she started to fire; he inhaled sharply as the second one came at her from the left. His heart jumped into his throat when he saw the third coming in on the right and couldn't stifle his yell of panic as he tried to warn Kim.

Kim stopped shooting at the one in front of her and began shooting at the one on the right. Her heart sank, there was no way she could stop all three.

She knew the one on the left would either be on her in a few seconds or maybe try to get out of her line of fire. From the corner of her eye, she could see the one in front was almost on top of her, and the one on the right was still a couple of seconds away. She kept her eyes on the one on the right as she kept firing and waited a heartbeat for the one in front to get almost within arms length before she turned the gun back towards it. Since her head had been turned the entire time towards the werewolf on the right, the werewolf in front of her was ready to grab and bite its prey. Its mouth watered with anticipation as it set its eyes on her throat. But the gun swung back around from the left at the last second and fired point blank into its chest.

Unfortunately the momentum of the first werewolf kept it from falling backwards, instead it fell forwards and knocked Kim off balance just enough to make her have to take a step backwards. Michael hadn't moved, if anything he'd crouched closer to Kim. As she stepped back trying to keep her stance, she backed into Michael. Already in a complete state of panic, he yelled and fell backwards away from her, right next to the other werewolf. She turned as the one coming in from the right reached her and tried to tackle her to ground. She dropped the empty gun from her right hand and bent into a crouch before kicking in a circular motion low to the ground, tripping the werewolf. She heard Michael scream out in pain and watched as the other one grabbed at him. If the situation wasn't so horrible she might have laughed at the werewolf's hesitation as Michael hit it on the head with the heavy flashlight.

---

Michael couldn't think. Nothing was going through his mind at all as the werewolf on their left jumped sideways onto all four limbs to get out of Kim's line of fire and creep up behind her. He could still hear the gunshots and the growls all around him. He tried to stay near Kim, but she suddenly stepped back into him, he screamed and fell over, right beside the werewolf that had been creeping up on Kim. Now in a crouch, it jumped on him. His mind raced, he screamed again as one of its claws grabbed his shoulder and shoved him down onto the ground. He started hitting it with the only thing he had, the flashlight. He hit the werewolf once and it hesitated like it wasn't really sure if the blow had hurt or not. Michael hit it again and again. The werewolf raised its head up slightly as the next swing barely missed and whooshed under its jaw. Michael's arm swung wide and the werewolf used its other hand to pin his arm across his chest. All Michael could do was scream again. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was glad he didn't sound like a high pitched school girl.

Kim straightened up, pulled the gun from its place on her stomach and started shooting the werewolf on Michael in the head and side. It roared at her as it stumbled slightly and then fell. The bullet in the head might not kill it, but it'll keep it down long enough for her to finish the job. The last werewolf had gotten its grounding faster than she'd hoped and turned while she fired on the other; it now jumped into her. They both crashed to ground, the empty gun from Kim's left hand sliding away. Kim was pinned on her stomach with the werewolf on her back, clawing deep gashes into her shoulders. Her head was turned towards the trees, she could heard it close to her head and feel its hot breath on her back and neck. She tried to lift up against its heavy weight, but it just dug its claws in deeper. She let out a cry of pain and from the corner of her eye she could see the werewolf's mouth coming at her head and neck.

---

Dean and Sam held their breaths as they listened quietly. Off in the distance they could hear the unmistakable echo of gunshots, and lots of them. They looked at each other for a heartbeat before Dean grabbed Sam's hand and helped him to his feet. They grabbed their flashlights and began running down the trail as fast as they could in the dark. Both new perfectly well that they would not make it in time to help, but willing to make one hell of a run for it.

---

Kim pushed up as hard as she could; hoping, if anything, to delay the bite and get it off balance enough to turn her body. The only gun in her hand with bullets was stuck under her and she had to get her arm free. She momentarily felt like it was working, but the werewolf just shifted and shoved down harder on her back. The air was pushed out of her lungs and she grunted with the pain.

Suddenly, there werewolf went toppling off of her and she watched it roll away in a tangle of arms and legs. Michael had no experience fighting anything. While he managed to tackle it off of Kim, he didn't know how to roll away fast enough to keep it from hitting him. Instead, he just became tangled up in its flailing arms as it twisted around and clawed him across the chest. As the werewolf turned, intent to rip his throat out with its fangs, Michael did the only thing his instinct knew to do; he threw up an arm and turned his head.

Kim rolled off her arm and the gun at her stomach. The werewolf rolled and flipped Michael over onto his back and clawed him viciously. Michael threw his arm over his face to shield it as the werewolf came at him again. Kim aimed and started firing. It was still dark but she could tell the larger shape on top of the smaller and fired into its side. The werewolf howled, rolled away and off of Michael, and then bolted into the woods.

Her gun was empty; she'd emptied the bullets from the third gun in her anger at the werewolf as it had run off into the woods. But she forgot about the one still lying on the ground behind her. At least until she heard it moving. Cursing to herself that she should have controlled her shots and conserved bullets a bit more, she dropped the empty gun and reached for the one strapped to her leg. As she drew the gun, the werewolf leapt into the tree line and began running. Cursing loudly, Kim began to follow. Running as fast as she could through the dark, listening to the werewolf as it ran only a few feet in front of her, but it was able to move faster than she was and it was getting away.

She tried to listen as it jumped and moved around the trees. When she heard it turn, she did the same, narrowly avoided several large oaks. Unfortunately, the farther away it got, the harder it was to follow. She finally had to stop when she didn't sidestep far enough and her arm and shoulder impacted with one of the trees. She fell to the ground, crying out in pain. She lay there listening and waiting for the pain to dull slightly into a throb, letting her know that nothing was broken. Everything was quiet. She listened to the werewolf running away into the distance and was at least glad that it wasn't coming back towards her.

Groaning she got up and headed back the way she'd run, only with all the running, she wasn't exactly sure. She took a few deep breaths and started moving slowly through the woods, hopefully in the right direction. Thoughts about the fight were running through her mind. Frame by frame as if the fight was in slow motion, each claw, attempted bite. She thought about the wounds on her body, the bleed claw marks on her back, the werewolf's intention to bite her neck and snap it. She began to worry about whether or not any saliva might have gotten into her wounds. She remembered Michael and the different chances the werewolves might have had. Could Michael have been bitten or infected? Could she be? The gun in her hand was small, but it had four silver bullets. Would she have to use them?


	6. Time to Regroup

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

Kim had no idea where she was really. Now that the fight was over and the woods were starting to pick up their normal noises of insects and small nocturnal but normal creatures, her adrenaline was no longer in overdrive and she was getting light headed. The wounds on her shoulder and back were still bleeding, at least she assumed that the liquid she felt running down her arm and dripping from her fingers was blood. She let her left arm dangle at her side and used her right arm to feel for obstacles like the tree she'd run in to earlier. She moved slowly and tried to listen for signs of the others.

In the distance she could see lights. She stopped and watched them. It was hard through all the trees to really tell where they were, but they were definitely moving pretty fast off to her left. She took a shaky breath and tried to follow them, still clutching the gun in her hand.

---

Dean and Sam were running as fast as they could down the path. The gunshots had stopped now and everything was quiet. They heard something large moving through the woods ahead of them so they stopped and lowered their lights again, readying their guns. Whatever it had been it crashed through the threes way ahead of them and kept going. Sam swallowed hard, "you think that was one of them?" Dean nodded his head, "yeah, but was it running away or just going back home?" Sam looked at Dean, "maybe both? I mean, if it had won it would have stayed and … you know," he didn't want to finish the sentence and Dean was glad he hadn't. But he knew Sam was probably right, so the werewolf running by was probably a good thing.

After a moment more, Dean stood up and started running again, "let's go." Sam was close on his heals as they continued running down the path. They could see some light head of them. It was very low and they knew the flashlights were on the ground. Neither light was moving, just shining off in different directions. Dean's stomach began to knot and looking back at Sam's expression as they slowed down to a walk, Dean knew Sam was thinking the same thing. If they were ok, the lights wouldn't be still. Dean whispered back, "maybe she's being cautious because we're coming up so fast?" Sam looked at him, "maybe."

Dean stopped and Sam stopped behind him, they listened and shined their lights towards what appeared to be a small clearing. They couldn't see anyone at first so Dean dared to call out, "Kim? Michael?" As they entered the clearing their lights landed on the dead werewolf lying next to one of the flashlights. The other flashlight was behind it a little bit and no one was around it. A groaning noise caught there attention and they turned the lights towards it, "Michael!" Dean yelled as he recognized the pain filled faced that tried to sit up. They both ran over to his side and started to help him sit until Dean saw the slashes and blood on his chest. Sam inhaled sharply as he caught sight of them too and Dean made Michael lay back, "take it easy Michael, you're pretty banged up."

Michael swallowed and tried to breath, but it was tough, "did she make it? Is she ok?" he whispered. Dean looked around the small clearing, "she's not here Michael. Where did she go?" Michael's eyes began to water as he shook his head, "I don't know. It happened so fast and it had her pinned to the ground so I jumped on it and … and then it just happened so fast. I remember the pain in my chest and I couldn't breath and then the gunshots. That's it, I must have blacked out." Sam just nodded his head and tried to comfort Michael, "ok, just take it easy. We're going to find her."

Dean started looking around the small clearing. He found three of Kim's guns with the chambers opened. She'd used a lot of bullets. A streak of fear ran up his spine as he turned back to Michael, "how many? How many were here Michael?" Blinking back tears Michael looked at Sam and then Dean, "three." Sam's jaw dropped as he turned to Dean, "What the hell, Dean? Two on us and three over here? That's five werewolves! That's a pack. What the hell is going on?" Dean just shook his head as he looked around and tried to judge the amount of blood that he saw, "I have no idea Sammy, but I do know that we need to get Kim and get the hell out of here."

---

Kim moved towards the flashlights. She could see more than just two, so she knew Dean and Sam had arrived. She didn't try to be quiet; she didn't see any reason to now that the werewolves had run off. She did keep listening for anything that might be moving up from behind her, just in case the two that got away decided to come back and try again.

Dean heard the noise in the woods first and turned his gun and flashlight towards the sound. At first he couldn't see anything, but Kim finally came into view as she made her way to the clearing. Dean's jaw clenched as he saw the blood on her shoulder, running down her chest and left arm, which she wasn't moving, it was just hanging to her side. The smaller pistol was in her right hand and she stopped at the edge of the clearing. Squinting her eyes, she lowered her head, but didn't try to shield her eyes from the light. She was pale. Leaves and twigs were stuck in her hair. Dean lowered his light, put his gun in the small of his back, and moved over to help her.

Once the light was out of her eye, she looked up at each one of them. Dean didn't appear to be wounded, but Sam and Michael were. Instinctively she stepped away from Dean and raised her gun towards the other two. Dean frowned, "put that away, Kim." He moved towards her, only to have it pointed at him momentarily. Kim sidestepped farther away from Dean, aiming the gun back and forth between him and Sam. "Were you bitten? Either of you?"

Sam stood up slowly, leaving Michael resting on the ground. He held out his hands to the sides, showing the claw marks, "no Kim. Michael wasn't either. But his chest is pretty bad and we need to get out of here." Sam could see Dean trying to shift ever so slightly closer to Kim. He tried to keep her attention long enough and give Dean the time he needed to get the gun from her. Sam took another breath, "what about you Kim? You're looking pretty bad. Did you get bit?"

Kim's adrenaline wasn't in overdrive any more and she'd lost quiet a bit of blood, but she wasn't so tired or weak that she couldn't fight or pick up on what the brothers were doing. This was going to hurt, but she just couldn't relax. She just didn't feel like the fight was over yet. She kept her eyes on Sam and let him continue to try to soothe her down. But she was no longer listening to his words. On the edge of her vision she was watching Dean trying to edge closer. Her ears were picking up the subtle sounds of the woods around her. There were only normal sounds. It wasn't too quiet and it didn't sound like anything large was moving through them, noisily or stealthily.

She knew Dean was about to jump. For a split second she thought about just lowering the gun so he'd relax, but for some reason she wanted him to come at her. A mischievous thought ran through her mind. Such an odd time for it too. His breathing had become quick and slightly shallow when she'd first raised the gun. Now it was slowing, but still shallow. She waited for the moment when he held his breath for that split second before leaping at her. As Dean moved to grab the gun from her hand, she twisted her left shoulder into him and tripped him the rest of the way with her left foot.

Dean fell hard onto his back in surprise. He started to jump up to finish the fight but it was already over. Kim cried out from the pain in her shoulder and slumped down onto the ground herself. Through pain filled eyes she looked up at Dean and started giggling.

Kim couldn't help it; the look on his face just brought it out of her. Of course the light headed feeling from the loss of blood and extreme pain from her shoulder probably contributed, but she just couldn't keep herself from giggling. Dean just sat there looking at her in complete bewilderment. It only lasted a couple of seconds though. She looked at him one more time, smiling lightly, before her eyes rolled and she collapsed on the ground unconscious.

Dean shook his head and picked up all the weapons and the flashlights. He looked over at Michael, "Sam, help him up. We're getting out of here." He quickly moved over to Kim and picked her up. He cradled her as best as he could to keep from hurting the arm, nestling her head against his neck. "This is going to be a rough walk back to the cars." He turned the flashlight to the trail and started walking, "have I told you how much I hate camping …" Sam just smirked and helped Michael start down the trail.


	7. Time to Rest

Kim was having a dream. She knew it was a dream. At least she was pretty sure it was. She was in that bar back in Colorado. The music seemed muffled, distant. She was dancing with someone, her head resting in the crook between shoulder and neck. Breathing in the scent of the man she was dancing with, she immediately knew who it was. She remembered that scent and it brought a light smile to her lips. They danced for a long time and she tried to lift her head to look at him, but she just couldn't. He was holding her tightly to him. For the first time in a very long time, she actually felt comfortable. Safe.

---

They finally made it back to the Tahoe and Dean gently put Kim in the front passenger seat after Sam lowered the seat back a bit. Once he'd gotten her in and closed the door he turned to Sam and Michael, "Sam, you and Michael get my car and meet me back at the motel. Hopefully these wounds wont require a hospital." Sam shook his head, "I don't know Dean, these cuts are pretty deep on Michael and Kim looks worse." Dean looked back through the window at Kim, "yeah, but what are we going to tell them? How are we going to explain the three of you?"

Sam frowned, but Michael said, "He's right Sam. How are we going to explain that we were in the park after closing, after dark, and got mauled by werewolves? Cause we can't say it was a bear, the Forest Rangers and lots of volunteers already checked after the first few maulings." He looked into the window at Kim, then back to Sam and Dean, "she's tough, I think we'll be ok, but we definitely need to get back to the motel and get us all cleaned up."

Sam just nodded and sighed. He held out his hand and Dean dropped the Impala keys into it. "Follow me Michael," he said as he headed for the car. Looking through the bag in the middle seat, he found a few towels. He wrapped his arm under her, lifting her off the seat so that she was resting against him again and gingerly placed the towels on the wounds around her shoulder and back. Looking at her arm he realized her shoulder was out of place. He was going to have to take her to the hospital whether he wanted to or not. Gently laying her back into the seat, he quickly got in the Tahoe and headed out. Calling Sam on the cell phone, he let them know what he'd found and where he was taking her.

Sam and Michael had gone to the motel room after Michael insisted that his wounds were not that bad. He'd wanted to come to the hospital just to sit with Kim, but Dean refused. It would definitely look weird for two people to show up mauled. At least with Kim, Dean could say he found her and the doctors wouldn't be any wiser.

---

By the time Dean and Kim left the hospital the sun was starting to rise. Sam and Michael had made it safely back to the motel and patched up their own wounds. Kim's arm was in a sling. Her run into the tree had cracked her collar bone and dislocated her shoulder. The park rangers were blaming the attack on a bear, believing that their original search just wasn't good enough. The claw marks across her back were too big to be anything but a bear as far as they were concerned. Kim just said she couldn't remember the attack.

Dean looked over at Kim sleeping in the passenger seat. The doctor said it was something light for the pain but Dean was pretty sure he lied just so she'd take something and get some rest. She'd refused the prescriptions and was all but ready to fight her way out of the hospital if she had to when Dean finally convinced her that she needed to shut up and listen to the damn doctor. If he was going to have to sit in the place with her then she was going to sit there and let the doctors do their job. He knew when wounds were bad enough to warrant a doctor but he also knew how she felt. If it had been him, he'd have probably acted the same way. So, once he'd convinced her to get something to help her relax, the doctor had given her something he described to her as light, but he smiled knowingly to Dean as he'd stuck her with the needle. So, once again, Dean had carried her out to the Tahoe and placed her gently into the front seat before heading to the motel.

Before they could reach the motel though, Dean's cell phone rang. Sam's voice was tense, "Dean, the police scanners are chatting about two murders in the park last night. Two men were found in separate areas of the park shot to death. They might start looking for you and Kim."

Dean took a deep breath, "alright, I'll head out of town and call you when I've got a new place to stay."

"Ok, Michael and I will hang out here until we hear from you," Sam hung up the phone and went back to listening to the scanner.

Dean put his phone back in his pocket and glanced over at Kim again. She appeared to be sleeping soundly and, according to the doctor, would not wake for at least six hours if not eight or more. So Dean drove out of town and headed into the hills taking what ever back roads he could find until he finally found an abandoned house. He left Kim in the car and examined the interior or the structure, testing the flooring and what old furniture still remained.

He then looked in the Tahoe to see what might be inside. The back had multiple duffle bags with various supplies. He found food, blankets, and ammunition. Grabbing everything he could find, he moved it all into the house and set up a couple of make-shift beds on the floor. He picked up Kim and moved her into the house on to one of them. As he laid her down, her shirt moved up just a touch on her stomach and he saw the edge of the tattoo. He hesitated for just a second before slowly moving her shirt up to the edge of her sports bra. His brows knotted together and he frowned slightly. He pulled out his cell phone to take a picture then looked at Kim sleeping soundly. "Sam will never let me live this down," he mumbled lightly to himself as he snapped the picture of her abdomen.

He called Sam on the phone to send him the picture. "You did what?" Sam exclaimed on the phone. "Dean, that is just low, even for you dude. She's unconscious and you're undressing her?"

Dean's eyes rolled as he took a deep breath, "shut up, it was just her stomach. Now find out what the symbol is and call me back."

For the majority of the day he either slept or discussed plans for tonight with Sam. At one point Sam had told him what he'd found in Bobby's book about the symbol and that he even called and talked to Bobby about it. "Yeah, Bobby thinks that's why she's able to fight the demons without being thrown around like a rag doll."

Dean frowned, "yeah, so why don't we go down to the local tattoo parlor and get one put on us? There's got to be more to it."

"There is," Sam confirmed, "according to Bobby, there's some kind of ritual that takes a month or more to perform and multiple priests chanting the entire time. All day and all night until it's completed."

"How can anyone stay up that long chanting?"

"They take shifts. One of them has to be chanting the entire time. The ritual supposedly starts with all of them together, then they split up as they harvest the materials needed, chanting the entire time. Once they get everything together and the whole mixing process starts, one priest continues to chant while the others try to rest until it's their turn." Sam flipped the pages in the notebook where he'd been taking notes as Bobby explained it to him. "Bobby says it's pretty dangerous and the only way to know if it actually worked is to go pick a fight with a demon."

Dean made a soft snort, "yeah I bet she's good at picking fights too. I'm surprised they haven't tried to take her out. They have to know that she's got this thing on her."

"I don't know. If they didn't before, after our encounter at the bar, I'm sure they know now. Be careful Dean, you never know when they might show up but you can bet it'll be when we're not ready." Sam's voice was tinged with worry, "I can pack up in five minutes. Michael and I can come …"

"No Sammy," Dean interrupted. "You two stay there and keep tabs on the local authorities. I don't think I was followed and I'll lay down some protection to be sure."


	8. Back to Hunting

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

Dean was in one of the back rooms when he heard the noise. He quietly put down the container of salt he was using to lay down lines across the windows and outward facing doors. He was pretty sure it was going to be Kim, but better safe than sorry, so he drew his gun. As he turned the corner back into the main room he did see that it was in fact Kim but his relief quickly turned to concern as he watched her.

Dean had seen Sam have visions, the pain they seemed to cause him, but he didn't know that Kim could have them as well. She was on her knees holding her head with the hand of her good arm and rocking slowly back and forth. That wasn't too bad, he was use to seeing Sam do that, but the blood that was dripping from her nose is what caused him the most worry. Sam's nose didn't bleed, at least not that he'd ever seen. Dean quickly grabbed a towel, poured some water from a bottle Kim had in her bag, and knelt down in front of her holding her good shoulder with a strong supportive hand.

When Kim finally took a deep breath and her eyes seemed to focus on him, he placed the wet towel to her nose. She blinked a few times then took the towel and sat back away from him. She was expecting Dean to look concerned, maybe a little freaked, but instead he just sat there watching her intently like he was waiting for her to say something. "Thanks," she mumbled through the towel.

"What did you see?"

She almost dropped the towel when he asked her that. _How the hell did he know she'd had a vision?_ she thought to herself.

Her shock must have been evident in her eyes. His smile was light, but concern was still in his eyes. He wasn't sure he should, but he said, "Sam has them too." Dean stood and walked over to pick up the bottle of water, "but he doesn't get nose bleeds." He brought the water over to her and she took a few sips.

Clearing her throat, she made sure her nose had stopped bleeding, "why aren't we at the motel?" she asked as she finally started looking around and realized she was in an old house on the floor.

"Sam picked up chatter on the police scanner that they'd found two men dead by gunshots in the park. We thought it'd be best if we got out of Dodge and hid to make sure they didn't come asking questions."

Kim nodded, "well, we need to get back there. Three werewolves are going to go hunting tonight and if we're not there Sam might be joining them."

Dean didn't need to hear anything else; he immediately started packing everything up.

---

As they drove back to town Dean asked for the details of her vision. Kim was still feeling a bit odd that someone outside of the church felt so comfortable with her gift. She had seen what telling people about the abilities would do. Steve, the hunter who trained her, had fallen for a girl once. That had made Kim extremely jealous, but she was only 15 at the time and had a serious crush on her mentor and teacher. Steve had kept their relationship professional, but that didn't mean Kim had to like it that way.

When the girl found out what they did because Steve had a vision in front of her she'd completely freaked out. Even when Steve tried to explain it and how important it was she'd still freaked. At first Kim had been happy to get rid of the distraction that kept Steve from spending as much time as possible with her, even if it was just sparring and fighting techniques. When the girl had died, Steve was crushed. They said it was an accident; a drunk driver hit her head on. It had distracted Steve enough that he reacted too slowly and was killed by an extremely irate ghost. Kim had watched it happen. They were at the top of the light tower when he was knocked off. Kim probably would have been thrown off next if Father Marcus had finally set fire to the salted bones of the lighthouse keeper.

"Hello?" Dean waved a hand in front of her face snapping her back to the present.

"Oh, sorry," Kim cleared her throat, "Sam was in the woods, alone apparently. It was weird, they could have torn him apart, but instead one distracted him while the second attacked from behind biting him on the shoulder." She shook her head, "this isn't normal werewolf behavior."

"You're telling me," Dean huffed.

"Ok, we know that they hunted in multiples and apparently they're sneaky enough to attack to convert. Why would they do it though? And why would your idiot brother go into the woods alone." Kim scowled.

"Hey! He's not an idiot. He's a damn smart college boy. He wouldn't do it unless he had a good reason." Dean scowled right back at her.

Kim just smiled and shook her head, "an overabundance of testosterone must run in your family."

---

The sun was low in the sky when they finally reached the motel and entered Dean and Sam's room. Sam was sitting at the table reading over something on the computer. Kim hesitated at the door after Dean had entered, "I'm going to go check on Michael." She smiled over at Dean, "thanks for the help." Glancing over to Sam, "you too Sam, thanks." Sam nodded and Dean smirked, "anytime." Sarah smiled and closed the door behind her as she went and knocked on Michael's door.

Dean told Sam about Kim's vision. Sam wasn't sure which shocked him more, the fact that she had visions like him or that he was going to be alone and attacked in the woods. "Wow. I was right about what I said yesterday. Her mom was probably killed just like ours." Sam shook his head, "what I don't get is why I would be alone in the woods though. I'm not that crazy, especially knowing that there's more than one running around out there. None of this makes any sense." Dean shrugged, "tell me about it. Come on, let's get going." They grabbed their bags and left the motel room.

Kim and Michael left Michael's room and started putting their gear into the Tahoe. Dean walked over to them, "where exactly do you think you're going?" Kim turned around and frowned, "where do you think I'm going?" Dean pointed at the sling on her arm, "you can't go hunting out there in this condition. You'll just get yourself or someone else hurt." Kim took in a fast breath and was ready to barrage him, but Michael quickly spoke up first, "don't bother Dean. Been there, done that, almost got hit for it."

Once again Dean and Kim stood glaring at each other. "We'll stick together this time," she offered before smiling lightly, "besides, would you stay back if you had these same injuries?"

Dean just blinked, he knew perfectly well that he would never sit back and stay out of the hunt unless he was so hurt that he was unconscious.

"Fine," he snapped, "but Michael's not going back out there."

Michael smiled, "we've already had that discussion too. And I know you're going to tell me how crazy I am, but we didn't die and we'll all be together this time."

Kim's glare shifted to one of defeat as she glanced back at Michael, "yeah I know." She turned back to Dean, "watch my back and I'll watch yours." She had a slight sparkle in her eye when she said that and Dean wondered which part of his back she planned on watching.

Dean just nodded and headed to the Impala with Sam.

They stopped before they actually reached the park. Barriers were blocking the road and police officers were instructing people around the park. They had closed it off and weren't going to let anyone in. Cursing, Dean followed the detour until they came to a gas station.

They all stood between the cars frowning. "We're going to have to sneak in some way," Kim spoke softly to keep any of the station's patrons from hearing them. Michael was looking over the map to see how many entrances were there and any other locations where they might be able to sneak through.

"Here," Michael pointed out a place on the map near a heavily wooded area but not close to any of the park roads.

Dean and Kim examined the area. "There are no trails near there," Dean frowned.

Kim shook her head, "nope, we'll be trying to move through the raw woods. We certainly wont be able to sneak up on them, that's for sure." They both stood looking at the map for a while. "We can take the Tahoe and find a place to hide it, that way the Impala wont get stuck or anything," she offered, glancing up at Dean. "Hopefully we can find an area where the trees aren't too close for the Tahoe to hide in," Dean agreed.

They drove back to the motel to leave the Impala and combine all their equipment into the Tahoe.

There was a police car or two that seemed to be driving back and forth down the road they'd chosen. "Wow, they're really trying to keep people out tonight." Sam said absentmindedly.

Sam barely had time to grab the bar above his head to keep from being thrown into Dean's lap, Dean didn't have a chance to grab anything before he was slammed into the door, Michael yelped in alarm and held on for dear life as Kim hit the breaks and sharply turned the Tahoe off to the side of the road, skidding to a halt behind a few trees and barely a foot away from one in front of them. "Good Lord in Heaven above!" Michael was yelling at her.

"You should have driven," Sam said with a smirk as he glanced over to Dean who was rubbing his now sore shoulder.

"This looks good," was all that Kim said as she put it into park and opened the door with her good arm.


	9. Just a Walk In the Park

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

"Dean, you need to take the rear and Sam can take point in front of me," Kim was actually being serious but for some reason that phrase ran through her mind in the most alarming way. She dropped her head trying to focus and get the blush off her face, but the light snicker she heard from the boys just made it worse. She had never had so much trouble staying focused and serious about a mission than she was having this time.

She flexed the muscle in her hurt shoulder, causing a sharp pain to radiate slightly. Taking a deep breath, she regained herself and brought her attention back to the matter at hand. "Michael, you'll stay between us …" that was it, they all started laughing.

They moved through the woods as best as they could as the sky darkened and the woods became pitch black, Clouds had moved in and covered the moon's light as they had unloaded their gear. Kim stopped Michael, who she was using as a pack mule, as she put the gun she was carrying into her belt and pulled out several large glow rods. She handed one to Dean and one to Sam, then handed two to Michael, since he wasn't going to be using any weapons. Retrieving her gun she whispered, "This time I want to be able to see clearly and hit my mark. So when they attack, if you can, break the rod and drop it so we can shed a little light on them."

They walked around for what seemed like hours. Michael was panting, his apparent load taking a toll on him. He may have been in good shape doing light exercises and eating right, but he was not use to traipsing through the woods with a pack of supplies. He was more accustomed to library research, praying, studying, etc. "We should take a short break," Kim whispered.

Michael put the bag down and sat next to it. Dean and Sam kept watch and Kim knelt down by Michael, "you doing ok, Junior?" She smiled lightly as he frowned at her and mumbled, "I'm not a junior, but yes, I'm ok. Just a little winded maybe." Kim nodded and dug through the bag for a bottle of water and handed it to him. "Sip lightly, but don't drink too much too fast though. It'll make your stomach upset." He nodded and took the water, drinking it as instructed. As they rested Kim realized that it had suddenly become quite … too quiet in the woods around them.

Kim tensed up, she looked over at Dean, her light shining low to the ground. He had a frown on his face and when their eyes met she could tell they were thinking the same thing. They both looked over to Sam; he was next to the tree looking around with a frown very similar to theirs. She whispered softly to Michael, "something's up, get ready."

Sam and Dean tensed; both still had a gun in one hand and the glow stick in the other. Michael had one of the sticks each hand and hovered them over the ground ready to break the chemical pieces inside so they would give off their soft yellow glow. Kim had her gun in her good hand and stayed protectively next to Michael. They sat for several minutes without a sound heard except for their breathing. Kim could hear them, sneaking softly in the woods around them. They were keeping their distance though, just moving in a circular motion around their little camp.

Michael's breathing became a little more erratic as fear began to creep inside him. Kim set her gun down on the ground and placed her hand on his shoulder. At first he'd jumped, but as she squeezed lightly, then patted his shoulder, he relaxed a little bit. Then they attacked. They jumped up, using a few trees to come at them from above, their claws digging into the bark, but giving away their positions before they reached their targets.

Dean and Sam had already begun to fire as the third came in at Kim. She only fired once before she had to quickly roll out of the way. Michael cracked both of the sticks as he threw himself backwards onto the ground to get out of the way. The soft yellow glow began to brighten the woods around him.

Dean's area was still dark, but Sam's stick was beginning to glow brightly as he continued to shoot at the werewolf. It was moving with remarkable speed as it leapt down onto him. Sam dodged around to the other side of the tree he had been leaning against and the werewolf hit bark only, growling fiercely as it hit the ground hard and without its prey. Sam used the tree to swing himself back around firing off several more rounds into the werewolf's chest. He smiled with satisfaction as it crumpled to the ground.

Dean broke the stick against the tree but nothing happened. He didn't have time to curse as much as he wanted to about it because he was cursing about the werewolf coming at him. The shadows created by the other lights were screwing up his aim and he couldn't tell if his shots were missing or just in the wrong place. All he could see was the dark shape clawing at the trees as it propelled itself at him. He back peddled as the werewolf came down hard on him knocking him back and to the ground. They rolled a few feet and skidded to a halt. Dean couldn't catch his breath; the impact with the ground had knocked the wind out of him.

The werewolf landed where Kim had been sitting. As the light in the area brightened the werewolf looked straight at Michael with hungry eyes. Michael's eyes met the werewolf's and he couldn't move, fear froze him as it stepped closer. It hesitated only a moment as it inhaled sharply, raising its head slightly, and narrowed its eyes.

Kim rolled onto her hurt arm and cried out in anger as pain shot through her shoulder and down her back and arm. She straightened herself up as the werewolf stepped towards Michael. It reared up slightly as it prepared to pounce, and Kim began firing into its back in hopes it would go through to the heart. It must have worked because the werewolf let out a piercing growl that turned almost into a wail as it crumpled on the ground at Michael feet.

The werewolf on Dean regained its stance and prepared to take its well earned kill only to find the other two hunters turning their attention and bullets on it. Howling in anger and annoyance it quickly jumped into the wood and ran as fast as its four limbs would take it. Cursing, Dean got himself to his feet and thought about going after it.

"Don't bother. It moves too fast," Kim indicated her shoulder, "and you're more likely to run into something that wont get out of your way than you are to catch up to it."

"So the last one is just going to get away?" Sam grumbled as he joined the others near the pack.

"Not much we can do until the next lunar cycle." Kim smiled mischievously towards Sam and then Dean, "I'll be here next month, will you?"

Dean was still flustered that his had gotten away, "stupid glow stick … this sucks out loud."

"Well, we have time to recuperate and research the actual people who were the werewolves, so maybe we can find a connection," Michael offered. "Then we can go after the man instead of the beast?"

Kim nodded, "good idea Michael. See, I knew you'd come in handy for something."

Dean chucked lightly, "keep him around so you'll have your own trusty side-kick geek boy with you." Sam just gave Dean a mock glare before smiling himself.

"Ok, lets get out of here before the park rangers come tracking down the noise." Kim stood up and tucked her gun into her belt, offering a hand to Michael to help him up.

"You know, something's strange," Sam frowned as they headed back towards the truck.

"What's that?" Dean asked from behind him.

"Why did the werewolves come after us? I mean, the park rangers are walking the trails and aren't as likely to be walking in a group of four, so why us?"

"Maybe they were ticked off that we killed their buddies?" Kim suggested.

"Yeah, but that leads us back to why they're hunting in a pack to start with and why they would care about what happened to one of the others." Sam pointed out.

"Nothing about this hunt has been normal to say the least," Kim reminded them.

The trip back to the motel was quiet. Dean had insisted on driving and while he and Kim had another one of their stand-offs about it, Michael had climbed into the drivers seat and started the engine, thereby ending the argument and sticking both Kim and Dean in the middle seat to glare at the back of his head. Sam had just laughed as he'd quickly jumped into the passenger seat next to Michael. "We have to go back and kick this things butt if for no other reason than Dean doesn't have a scratch on him," Kim griped, eliciting laughs from the other occupants.

As soon as they reached the motel the split up to the respective rooms to clean up. After checking up and changing Sam's bandages, Dean pulled out the laptop and started working on the links between the first two men found shot. It was time to get some rest until the reports were out about the identities of the next two men they were sure to find in the park eventually, especially after an anonymous tip regarding gunshots was called in by Michael.

Kim woke with a start and rolled over to see the clock's bright red light showing 1:56 PM. She'd slept longer than she intended and wasn't sure why no one had come to wake her. They should be able to get some information about the other men by now, so she put her shoes on and headed to Michael's room. She heard a few noises, things being dropped and closed, before Michael opened the door.

"Everything ok Michael?"

"Uh … yeah, sure. I was just changing the bandages. You ok?" Michael was a little flushed and Kim frowned slightly.

"I'm fine, just slept longer than I wanted. The boys still asleep?"

"I believe so, I haven't heard from them. But I did get the names of the other two people, one of which was a woman, by the way." Michael stepped into the room and went to the laptop.

It didn't matter to Kim if one was a woman or not, they were werewolves and needed to be disposed of. "Ok, so what did you find out about them?" Kim moved into the room and sat down in one of the chairs opposite Michael.

"Well, the connection I've come up with is a big fat nothing. They don't work together, they don't live together, and they don't really hang out in the same social circles. At this point we have nothing that links them other than they're hunting in a pack in the park."

"Go back to each of their medical histories. Find anything on them that relates to dog bites. That'll at least let us know when they were first infected. There should also be some kind of report on where it took place. Maybe that will be our link." Kim stood up and headed for the door, "I'll go wake the boys and let them know what we've got so far."

"Ok, maybe have Sam come see me when you do." Michael smirked.

"I don't think so."

"Kim, he's a good researcher, I could use his help."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Kim, I may be getting ready to take vows and become a priest, but I am human and I do understand those types of needs. You're young, beautiful, and the only thing around you even coming close to a relationship is the old farts at the church and the young boy you're training. So you've got parental figures and a sibling figure. You have no partners in your life and you need something like that. I mean, tell me, have you ever been in love with anyone?"

Kim almost snarled, "Exactly when do I have time to have a relationship? Do you think relationships are just another even in my day? How naïve are you? My life is hunting. I kill or get killed. There's no romance, love, or family involved. No one knows what I do except other hunters and the priests. It's safer that way for everyone around. No emotional ties to cloud judgment or distract me from what I have to do." Kim opened the door to the motel room, "welcome to my world, Father to be." The closed a little harder than she'd really wanted, but she didn't have time for his psychology crap.

When she reached the boys room she hesitated and listened. While it was extremely soft, she could hear the distinctive clicking of keys. Someone was working on the laptop. She reached up and lightly knocked on the door.

After a second, Sam opened the door, "hey Kim." He stepped back to let her come in, "how are you feeling? How's the shoulder?"

"It'll be fine, thanks." She spoke softly, not sure if Dean was awake, but she heard the water running in the shower and assumed he was.

Sam saw her looking around the room, "he's in the shower." Kim nodded.

"Michael's been doing some research but hasn't found a link between the individuals yet. I'm having him check medical records now to see if we can determine an original attack location for each of them."

Sam nodded and sat back down at the laptop, "I've been trying to find a connection as well."

"Michael suggested that you two get together. Maybe the two geek boys can pull something up working together," she smiled lightly.

Sam smiled back, "that's not a bad idea." He began packing up the laptop as the water in the shower stopped. He walked a little closer to the door and called out, "hey Dean, I'm heading to Michael's room. Kim says he's looking for info and we're going to brainstorm together to see what we can come up with."

"Alright," was Dean's reply from behind the closed door.

Sam grabbed his stuff and headed out, smiling lightly as he closed the door with Kim still in the room sitting at the table reading some of the papers he left behind.

Dean walked out of the bathroom in his towel and froze, "oh, hey Kim. I didn't realize you were still here."

"Don't mind me, I'm just reading some of the papers that you boys printed out. You're research techniques aren't that bad." Kim didn't look up; she just continued to read the paper.

Dean hesitated for a moment and started to grab his clothes and go back into the bathroom to change. He watched her as she read through the papers and appeared to be completely ignoring him. So he shrugged, dropped his towel and started getting dressed. He kept glancing in her direction just to see … maybe hoping she would … if she was checking him out. _Please just one sign that she's actually interested in me and has a pulse somewhere in that body!_ He thought miserably to himself as he finished getting his clothes on.

Kim's focus had left the paper in front of her the moment he'd stepped out of the door. She was blessed with excellent hearing, so she could hear the quickening of his breath and he tried to casually get dressed. She was also blessed with excellent peripheral vision, so from the corner of her eye she was able to make out the curves of his shoulders, chest, waist, legs, and everything in between. While the lighting wasn't perfect and she was only getting a peripheral view, her imagination was able to fill in the rest. She heard his light sigh of disappointment and almost smiled, but she kept her professional mask on as she waited for him to join her at the table. Now was not the time or the place to suddenly get a crush or have her hormones take control.

Actually, when she really thought about it, now was probably the perfect time … if she'd been a normal hot blooded woman, but she'd learned a long time ago that she was not normal and could not act as such. She sighed inwardly to herself as Dean came over to see what she was reading.

Michael heard the firm knock on the door and smiled as he went and opened it for Sam. He glanced behind Sam and smiled again when he noticed that Kim wasn't there.

"What?" Sam asked as he set his laptop up on the table next to Michael's.

"I guess it depends. Did she stay in your room with Dean or go back to her own." The sparkle in Michael's eye made Sam laugh lightly.

"Uh, she stayed in our room reading some of the things I'd printed out."

"Mmmmhmmmm," was all Michael said as he sat down in front of his laptop to start looking for a connection again.

"Should I go get them?" Sam suddenly had an urge to protect them from doing something.

"Of course not," Michael looked up and noted the worry in Sam's eyes. He smiled, "don't worry Sam; it's nothing to worry about."

Sam's frown deepened, "is there something I should know?" Sam's instincts were screaming that something might be wrong. Not that he would care much if Dean and Kim actually did something while he and Michael were researching, but it was something about Michael's demeanor that made him slightly nervous.

Michael examined Sam's expression for a moment, "there's nothing wrong Sam. I'm supposed to evaluate Kim during this hunt. I was supposed to convince her to try a little fun time by taking her to a bar or something to take her mind off her normal job so she can relax. At least once the werewolf was killed. You boys seem to be the perfect diversion instead."

Sam chuckled lightly to himself and shook his head, "you have to admit that the tension between those two is pretty funny."

"While I'm not sure that Dean is the right kind of diversion for her," Michael coughed lightly, "I think anything might be good. According to Father Marcus she doesn't do anything except workout, practice, study, and hunt. He's afraid she might be getting too detached from …" Michael paused as if he were at a loss for words. "Well, anyway, I think that even if she doesn't do anything at all with Dean, she's at least feeling something other than a need to kill stuff." Michael smiled as he turned his attention back to the laptop.

Sam smiled and, even though he still had a strange vibe about Michael, he turned his attention to the work at hand.

---

Kim left the table and headed for the door, "I need to go and workout some. I'll be back in an hour or so."

Dean jumped up and wanted to grab her arm but the hurt one was closest and he didn't want to grab it. Instead he just said, "Whoa, wait a sec," and when she paused he moved to stand in front of her. "You know if you need a workout …" the smirk on his face could have charmed almost anyone.


	10. End of the Pack

_**Typical Disclaimer:** This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side._

_I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it._

---

''My dear, I doubt you could keep up even with me being hurt," Kim grinned up to him as she passed by and opened the door.

''Oh really?" he smirked. But she could see the dejected look in his eyes. She reached up and touched his cheek lightly. ''Maybe another time," she said softly as she stepped out the door and headed to her own room.

Dean watched her enter her room and then went to Michael's and knocked.

Sam got up from the table to answer the knock on the door. Dean walked in as Sam stepped back. "You guys find anything yet?" Dean asked as he sat down on the end of Michael's bed.

Sam smirked as he sat back down, "where's Kim?"

"She went back to her room; said she needed to work out or something." Dean mumbled with a slight pout that only Sam would notice.

Sam's smirk got a little bigger as he turned back to the laptop, "we're looking up their medical records right now."

---

"Well," Sam finally said after a great deal of searching, "looks like they all reported being bitten by a wild dog in the park. They were treated and released. No one ever found the dog though."

"Not much to go on," Dean paused in his knife sharpening and frowned. "Don't tell me we're going to have to wait a month before we can come back after this thing?"

"Nope," Michael smiled up at them, "because I just found another dog bite victim that hasn't turned up dead from our little excursions yet."

---

"You've got to be kidding me?" Dean shook his head as he read over the profile of

Pete McCrory. "This guy is a vet and a dog breeder. Apparently he got bit by a stray someone brought in after hitting it with their car. Looks like he was the first dog bite victim in the last year or so, but he wasn't bit at the park. He's around dogs all the time, of course he's going to get bit. What makes you think he's our werewolf?"

"Well," Michael began, "he had to go to the hospital for the bite and no one else has reported one. His was the first in the series of dog bite complaints in the park too." "It's our best lead, so I say we go check him out," Sam added as he closed his laptop and packed it away. Dean nodded, "alright," and headed out to the door to get their gear.

---

"I'm sorry, but Dr. McCrory doesn't see anyone normally if they don't have a pet. I'll ask, but are you sure I can't help you with your questions?" the receptionist asked as Sam stood at the counter. "No thank you, I'd feel more comfortable speaking with the doctor himself, please."

It took some waiting, but eventually Dr. McCrory asked Sam back to his office. As they both sat down Pete asked, "so how can I help you?" Sam coughed nervously, "well, I was thinking about getting a dog and I've been reading about their care, but I was concerned about getting bit. I heard that you had a run-in and wanted to get your expert advice."

They spoke for almost an hour before Sam left the office and returned to where Dean was waiting for him in the parking lot. "I need to stop sending you into places that involve doctors. You always leave me waiting out here forever." Dean grumbled as Sam got in the car. Sam smiled and shook his head lightly, "well, I think this might be our guy. Apparently the dog got hit on the road that goes around the park."

Dean frowned, "what is the significance of this park, I mean, why do they all seem to gravitate there? This doctor lives all the way on the other side of town from it. Normal behavior would dictate that he hunt around his neighborhood. Of course nothing about this hunt has been normal."

"Well, my thoughts are this guy is a dog breeder. The way he talked about the pack mentality and how you have to be the 'alpha' dog when you're training them. Maybe, just maybe, when he infects someone that mentality gets transferred. So, when it's transformation time, they have this desire to get back with the pack," Sam offered, though he didn't sound overly confident about it.

Dean nodded, "and I guess our doctor in there is the alpha giving the pack instructions?"

"I don't know, maybe." Sam whispered.

"Ok, so we wait until he gets off work and we take care of him. We can either do it now or later tonight after he's home. Tonight would probably be better," Dean started the car and headed out of the parking lot.

"What? Are you nuts?" Sam blurted, "he's a human right now Dean. We can't just kill him. We have assumptions about him, but no proof. We have to make absolutely sure before we do anything."

"Well we can't exactly wait around for another month before we figure it out. We need to find a way to determine it now." Dean huffed as he drove towards the motel. However, when he reached the intersection, he turned right instead of left. "Where are you going," Sam asked looking out the window. Dean pointed at the map, "Tell me where the doc lives and we'll check his place out while he's at work. Is he married?"

"Uhh, doesn't say that he is. That's weird too. There were no pictures of family in his office either that I can remember. Just pictures of pets." Sam frowned at his papers as he sifted through them looking for information about a possible family.

Pete's house was out in the county where he had plenty of land for the dogs he was raising. They drove down the long driveway to the house. It was pretty open, with only a few trees throughout the front yard that looked like it hadn't been cut for a month. The house was well kept otherwise and there didn't appear to be any other vehicles parked in front. They stopped the Impala and went to the front door, ringing the bell and listening to its chiming inside the large house. After ringing it a second time, they decided to head around to the back of the house where they found a large fenced in area surrounded by other smaller fenced in sections joined to the larger section by gates. In each of the smaller sections were dogs. German Shepards and Siberian Huskies all stood up as they came around the house, some barking and others just wagging their tails. A couple of them had pups running around in the cage with them.

Sam nudged Dean's arm with his elbow and pointed to the very back. A section, larger than the kennels, but smaller than the main caged area, was constructed of thicker metal slats that caused Sam to shiver as it reminded him a little of the cage he was put in by the Benders family. They could see there was a large dog in the cage, but it was just sitting there staring at them. Dean led the way as they moved around towards the back cage to get a closer look. A deep growling greeted them as they got close and fierce eyes that shone through made Sam shiver again. "It's a wolf," Dean's voice distracted Sam and he blinked trying to keep from looking at it in the eye.

Sam started looking around at the other dogs, "they're all female." Dean smirked at him, "dude, you're checking out the dogs?" Sam frowned, "shut up. The wolf is the only male. He's breeding hybrids." Dean glanced at him, "so." Sam shrugged, "just an observation, I guess."

Dean noticed the frown on Sam's face that he gets when he concentrating or thinks something that he's afraid to say. He watched as Sam moved closer to the wolf and looked into the cage. The wolf just stared at him intently making the hairs on the back of Sam's neck stand on end. As he stood next to the cage and placed a hand on one of the bars the wolf stood up and walked over to where he was, still watching his every move. Not once did it look towards Dean, just always Sam. Just as the wolf was getting up to Sam's hand, Dean grabbed Sam's arm and jerked his hand way. This caused the wolf to suddenly growl, bark, and claw at the cage towards Dean. Both the boys took quick steps away from the cage, almost tripping over themselves in the process.

"Damn!" Dean cursed as he drug Sam backwards with him, not that it was much effort since Sam was backpedaling himself. "Ok, we hide the Impala and wait for the doc to come home," Dean whispered, then grabbed Sam's arm and pulled him a little towards the front of the house. Sam nodded and followed. They parked the Impala down the street at the first area they could find that actually had some bushes and trees to hide it. They quickly grabbed their guns and made sure the silver bullets were loaded before walking back to Pete's house and hiding behind the bushes that grew out of control because they were never attended to in the back yard against the house.

Dean glanced at his watch impatiently. The dogs had settled down and just lie in the sun or shade for the few that got evening shade from the sparse trees. Sam shifted uncomfortably and nervously chewed on either his lower lip or his thumb nail.

The dogs standing up or shifting their attention towards the house was their first indicator that Pete was home. Then they heard the car pulling into the driveway and stopping by the house. After typical noises from doors opening and shutting they finally saw Pete coming around from the side of the house with a wheelbarrow full of dog food and a large while sack on top. The first thing he did was enter the main portion of the kennel and go all the way to the back where the wolf was. He grabbed the white bag and opened the door, immediately snapping orders in a harsh tone before emptying the contents of the bag into the cage. He then proceeded to take the wheelbarrow and feed each of the other dogs in the other kennels. As he headed for and opened the kennel gate one the side closest to Dean and Sam the wolf began howling and barking.

After a second or two Pete turned towards the house and yelled, "Come out and show yourselves!" Dean and Sam tensed, but didn't move so Pete yelled again, "if you don't show yourselves I'm calling the police." They saw him reach into his pocket and pull out his cell phone. "Ok, ok!" Dean yelled back indicating to Sam that he was to remain in place and quiet. Sam frowned, but remained in his hiding place. Dean stepped from behind the bushes and casually started walking towards Pete; "I'm with the local animal protection agency …" he started but was cut off by Pete. "Tell you friend to come out too."

"Friend? What friend?" Dean asked, trying to put his most confused expression on his face. Pete scowled, "I know there is someone else there with you, now tell him to come out as well." Dean held his hands out to the sides and walked towards Pete, "there's no one with me. I'm just here to check up on your dogs that's all. Make sure you're taking care of them properly." Pete opened his cell phone and started dialing, "you tell him to come out right now or I'll have the police arrest your for trespassing!" As Dean grew closer Pete looked at him hard, it was then he noticed a sudden expression of recognition and fear swept over Pete's face, "you?" Pete started backing up, his eyes wide in fear. Dean stared at him in confusion as he turned and ran back towards the wolf's cage.

"Pete?" Dean yelled at him, "Pete, wait!" It didn't help, Pete ran to the wolf's cage and opened the door. The gate to the kennel was still open and, after Pete barked a command, the wolf began running full speed towards the gate and Dean standing beyond it with teeth bared and a snarl coming from deep in its throat. Dean took only a fraction of a second to compose himself and began a full run towards the gate in hopes of reaching it before the wolf could reach him. Sam yelled and stepped out from his hiding place pulling his gun from his belt, but he couldn't take aim on the wolf because Dean was between them.

Dean ran as fast as he could, but the wolf was just coming at him too fast. He was concentrating on the gate but could see the wolf past his focus and for a brief second he thought the saw red in the eyes. As much as he wanted to verify, he had to get that gate. As he reached the fence he allowed himself to slide and hit it hard, but that kept him from wasting any time slowing down. The impact with the side of the fence knocked the breath out of him but he grabbed the gate quickly and pulled it to him just as the wolf jumped towards him, hitting the gate instead of Dean. The latch caught and Dean crawled backwards as fast as he could as the wolf tried to bit through the gate and started digging under it. Sam moved up quickly with his gun pointed over Dean's head at the wolf.

Dean sat, leaning back on his hands, panting heavily as he tried to regain his breath. He rubbed his chest lightly where the fence pole had hit him; it'll be a rough bruise to be sure. He heard Sam walk up behind him and glanced up smirking, then picked himself up off the ground and watched Pete walk across the kennel heading for the fence. Sam stepped in front of Dean, "stay away from the gate Dr. McCrory. Please." Pete looked at Sam and spat, "so you just want to know about having a dog as a pet, huh?" The wolf continued to dig at the ground where the fence and gate met, quickly making a hole. Its head could get under, but not his body yet.

"Call off the dog, dude," Dean told Pete as he stepped up beside Sam. "Don't think we'll hesitate to shoot that mutt it if it comes at us." Pete walked up close to the wolf and barked a "Heel" command and it immediately obeyed. He gave a "stay" command and walked to the gate, the wolf staying behind where it was. Dean looked at Pete as the doctor's features began to twist into something Dean could only describe as insanity. His lips twisted into a snarl and his eyes widened as he almost stomped his feet in the grass walking and opening the gate, "How dare you come onto my property after what you did them!" Pete flung opened the gate so hard it swung around and hit the fence, the wolf shifted and snarled, showing Dean his teeth again, but didn't move from its spot. Sam kept the gun trained on Pete and Dean drew his not sure of Pete's intentions.

Pete was near foaming at the mouth as he spat curses in their direction, but it was several phrases that caught their attention the most, "… killed my pack … have to start over … time it takes to train …" They were so caught up in his ranting that they never saw the hand signal he'd given or the wolf slowly making its way out of the kennel.

"Stay back!" Sam warned as Pete got closer. In his rage and ranting, they finally got their confirmation that he was the one. Pete's eyes changed, they yellowed and grew wider, his teeth grew and his jaw began to jut forward and expand. They'd let him get too close and when he moved it was so quick and unexpected that Sam almost didn't see the wolf in time. Pete lunged at Dean, grabbing the gun and picking him up by the throat before throwing him backwards. Sam started to fire on him when he saw the wolf leaping towards him. He dropped backwards and rolled quickly to his right as the wolf landed behind where he'd been standing and would have certainly knocked Sam to the ground if he hadn't moved. Rolling to his side he aimed the gun as the wolf turned to attack again and fired two shots into the head and chest of the canine.

Dean landed roughly almost hitting his head on the concrete porch of the house. As Pete rushed forwards, his face continued to distort as did most of his body. Clothes began tearing as his legs and arms lengthened and his chest broadened. His snout grew along with the fangs and Dean had lost his gun.

The gunshots attracted both of their attentions, fear shooting through Dean like lightning when he heard the wolf's snarl and then yelp. He took the chance to look in Sam's direction when Pete did the same thing and was relieved to see Sam starting to get up and the wolf laying still on the grass. Pete became enraged and turned his attention to Sam, using all four limbs to accelerate and propel his body quickly over the short distance as Sam tried to stand up.

Whether he had been interested in biting them to begin with, he definitely wasn't interested now. As Pete impacted into Sam's side and sent them tumbling, he used his claws the rake Sam's back, chest, and neck. Sam cried out in pain, trying desperately to angle his gun to shoot, but all his body wanted to do was curl up onto itself in an attempt to relieve some of the burning pain he was feeling. He heard gunshots and felt a burning sensation through his arm that made him cry out again. He felt a heavy weight on him and it was making it difficult to breathe. He looked at the ground curiously as a small pool of dark liquid began forming in front of him as his sight darken and he fell unconscious.

---

"You're damn lucky you were able to get him to the hospital before he bled out. You should have never done there without me." Sam could hear the woman's voice and it sounds familiar, but his mind was still foggy. "We were just checking the place out and things just happened." Sam was pretty sure that had been Dean's voice. "You could have both been killed or worse, you could have been bitten and become one of those things." Sam was now positive that the woman was Kim.

"Hush! Both of you, he's waking up," Michael snapped at them as Sam began to shift in the hospital bed. Sam opened his eyes to Dean hovering over him. "Hey there kiddo, how ya doing? You had me a little worried there," Dean said with a smirk on his face. Sam blinked a few times and looked around the room. Kim was sitting over on a small couch and Michael was walking around to sit next to her. She looked angry, but her features softened when she saw Sam looking at her, "glad to see you're awake." Sam looked back to Dean, "how long have I been out of it." Dean shrugged, "only a few hours. I was afraid Pete had hit your artery or something the way you were bleeding, but the neck wound wasn't as bad, you just bleed like an opened dam," Dean teased before turning towards Kim and Michael, "so what now?"

"Nothing more to do." Kim's face suddenly became taunt and Michael looked down at the floor. She stood up and walked out of the room saying over her shoulder as she left, "I'm glad you're ok Sam." Michael stood up and stopped Dean as he started to follow her out, "what does that mean?" Michael frowned, "she took care of all the dogs and Pete's body. She didn't take a chance on any of them not being infected." Dean frowned, "damn." Michael nodded, "yeah."

Michael shook Dean's hand and waved to Sam as he left the room, "see you guys back at the motel." Dean nodded and sat down in the chair next to his brother. The doctor came in and out and wanted to keep Sam overnight, but Sam refused. He was feeling sore and light headed, but he knew how much Dean hated being in hospitals. He would have signed himself out AMA, but Dean actually told him to stay put. Dean stayed on the small couch frowning for most of the evening, but he refused to leave Sam's side and refused to let Sam leave the hospital until the doctors were confident that he was going to be ok.

It didn't surprise Dean in the least, as they drove up to the motel room; the parking space where the Tahoe had been parked was empty. Sam noticed his brother's frown and subtle pout, "I'm sorry man." Dean looked up at him, "for what?" Sam smiled lightly, "I know you wanted to say good bye or see her again before she left," the smirk on Sam's face almost made Dean blush, so Dean did as he always does and huffed, "shut up." Sam laughed as they entered the room and found a small note on the laptop that read simply:

_Thanks for the help. Take care of Sammy and yourself. –Kim._

---

Kim and Michael packed their bags in their respective rooms. Kim gathered everything and threw it into the Tahoe. Michael had asked her if she wanted to wait for Dean and Sam to come back, but she'd refused and left a note in their room.

Michael was alone in his room packing his things. At the sink he removed the bandage from his arm and looked at his smooth skin. He threw the bandage into the trash can and pulled the bandage from his chest. Glancing at himself in the mirror he smiled lightly. He threw the white bandages into the trash can and replaced them with fresh ones and then got dressed.

They climbed into the Tahoe, Michael driving. Kim took a couple of the prescribed pain pills since it was going to be a long ride and her shoulder was bothering her a little. As they traveled on the Interstate and Kim began to doze off, Kim mumbled lightly, "I'm glad that's over with … I hate werewolves …" Michael just glanced over towards her and smiled lightly before returning his eyes to the road.

end 


End file.
